The invention relates to a hinge housing in the form of a cup which can be sunk in a mortise in the back of the door of a piece of furniture and which has a cup portion made of metal from whose upper margin a mounting flange projects integrally in the position properly mounted on a door and overlaps areas of the inside of the door adjoining the mortise in the door, and whose margin is curved toward the inside of the door, so that in the mounting flange there is formed a shallow recess open on the inside of the door, and having a socket plate of plastic disposed between the mounting flange and the inside of the door, which can be releasably joined to the mounting flange and the door.
In comparison to the plastic hinge housings predominantly used formerly, it has in recent years become increasingly popular to configure in this manner hinge housings which serve as door-mounted hinge parts and can be fastened in a mortise in the inside of the door of a cabinet in modern multi-joint cabinet hinges, i.e., to configure them in the form of a hinge housing composed of a cup part made of metal with a mounting flange and a socket of plastic which is virtually invisible after being fastened to or in the door. The metal part, made from sheet metal by stamping and pressing or by pressure casting methods from a metal alloy, thus on the one hand determines the appearance of the hinge housing, and on the other hand assures the necessary great strength, while the plastic socket, which in the installed state is invisible or nearly invisible, assures the precise alignment of the metal part in the mortise in the door. The hinge housing is fastened to the door with one or two screws passing through countersunk bores in the mounting flange of the metal part and openings in the part of the plastic socket that is under them, and they are either driven directly into the door or engage in mounting posts provided on the socket, which in turn are held in mounting holes bored into the door at a distance from the mortise for the cup part. These mounting posts, preferably made integral with the socket by injection molding, are oversized with respect to the inside diameter of the mounting bores in the door, so that they tightly join the mounted hinge housing to the door. By configuring the mounting posts in the manner of expansion plugs, which can be spread open by the mounting screws, the tight seating of the hinge housing on or in the door can be further improved. Removal of the hinge housing from the door, however, is possible by removing the mounting screws, since then the attachment of the metal part to the socket is unfastened. This screwing involves work, and if the metal part with the socket is repeatedly removed and reattached the threads of the mounting screws in the mounting posts, or, if the latter are omitted, in the walls of the mounting bores in the door, become worn out, so that the firm seating and secure mounting of the hinge housing on the door suffers. See the hammer-in housing disclosed in German Patents 26 06 181 and 26 36 767, for an example of the known hinge housing.
It is the aim of the invention, on the other hand, to improve the known hinge housings such that they can be installed on an associated door more easily and quickly without a tool, and will be removable again, if necessary, without injury to the integrity of the fit even when repeatedly installed and removed.